BUSINESS BRIEFS.(A)

TRANSPORTATION

S&P sees AMR bankruptcy risk

Standard & Poor's cut its ratings for AMR's American Air deeper into junk status, and said the world's No. 1 carrier may go into bankruptcy by midyear without new labor deals. S&P said an Iraq war would cause American's revenue to fall and ramp up its fuel costs. J.P. Morgan on Thursday put the odds of bankruptcy at 25%-80%.

Northwest eyes 37% pilot pay cut

The pilots union of the No. 4 U.S. air carrier said Northwest Air has proposed annual reduced pilot costs via lower wages and benefits, changes in work rules and 343 layoffs. The proposed cuts will total $2.7 bil over a 6 1/2-year deal begun in July. The airline lost $798 mil in '02.

Fiat posts record net loss for '02

The Italian automaker lost $4.6 bil, including $929 mil in charges for restructuring, write-downs and losses from the sale of its GM stake. Ex-items, it lost $821 mil. For Q4, it met break-even views. But its core auto unit lost $194 mil on flat sales. It'll spend $5.4 bil over 18 months to revive the unit and forge closer ties with GM. Fiat can force GM to buy ...